Robinhood

This is where Robinhood built its reputation, and it still holds up — mostly.

The free stuff:

• $0 commissions on stocks, ETFs, and stock/ETF options
• No account maintenance fees
• No account minimums (though margin requires $2,000)
• No inactivity fees

The not-free stuff:

• Index options: $0.50 per contract without Gold, $0.35 per contract with Gold — plus exchange fees ranging from $0.07 to $0.75 per contract depending on the index (SPX, VIX, NDX, etc.)
• Futures: $0.75 per contract without Gold, $0.50 per contract with Gold — plus exchange fees ($0.20–$7.50 depending on the product) and a $0.02 NFA assessment fee
• Regulatory pass-through fees: FINRA's Trading Activity Fee of $0.000195 per share on equity sells and $0.00329 per contract on option sells (capped at ~$9.79 per trade). The SEC regulatory transaction fee is currently $0. These are tiny and universal across all brokers.
• Options regulatory fee: $0.04 per contract for OCC clearing and exchange fees
• ADR fees: $0.01–$0.03 per share on foreign stocks traded as ADRs

Margin rates (as of December 2025):

• Up to $50K: 5.00%
• $50K–$100K: 4.80%
• $100K–$1M: 4.50%
• $1M–$10M: 4.25%
• $10M–$50M: 4.20%
• $50M+: 3.95%

Robinhood Gold subscribers get their first $1,000 of margin interest-free. These rates are competitive — Robinhood claims they're the lowest among leading brokerages, and the 5% base rate does undercut Schwab and E*Trade's standard tiers. Interactive Brokers Pro still beats them for large balances, but for the average retail investor borrowing under $50K, Robinhood is genuinely cheap.

Robinhood Gold costs $5/month (or $50/year) and bundles: 3.35% APY on cash, the first $1,000 margin free, Morningstar research, Level II market data, bigger instant deposits, lower futures and index options fees, and a 3% IRA match. Whether it's worth it depends entirely on your cash balance and trading activity.

Robinhood has expanded well beyond the basic taxable brokerage account:

Account types:

• Individual brokerage (taxable) — margin or cash account
• Joint brokerage account
• Traditional IRA
• Roth IRA
• Managed accounts via Robinhood Strategies (robo-advisor)

Notably missing: no SEP IRA, no 529 plans, no custodial accounts, no trusts. If you're self-employed or need estate planning tools, look elsewhere.

What you can trade:

• Stocks and ETFs — thousands of US-listed securities, including fractional shares starting at $1
• Options — stocks, ETFs, and index options (SPX, VIX, NDX, RUT, DJX, and more)
• Crypto — BTC, ETH, XRP, SOL, DOGE, SHIB, and others, 24/7 through Robinhood Crypto
• Futures — S&P 500, Nasdaq, Dow, Russell 2000, energy, currencies, metals, and crypto futures
• Event contracts — prediction markets at $0.01 per contract

24-hour trading is available 5 days a week for popular stocks like TSLA, AAPL, and AMZN — a genuine differentiator for people who want to react to after-hours news.

The IRA match deserves a spotlight: with Gold, Robinhood adds 3% on top of your annual IRA contributions — up to $225 on the 2026 max of $7,500 (under 50). Without Gold, you still get 1%. You must keep Gold for 1 year and leave the matched funds in the IRA for 5 years, or they claw it back. Still, no other major broker offers anything like this. It's essentially free money for buy-and-hold retirement investors.

The good:

• The app is still best-in-class for simplicity. If you've never bought a stock before, Robinhood makes it feel effortless. The UI is clean, intuitive, and fast.
• Robinhood Legend — their desktop trading platform — adds advanced charting with 80+ technical indicators and real-time data. It's a serious upgrade for active traders who outgrew the app.
• 3.35% APY on uninvested cash with Gold is competitive and beats most savings accounts. FDIC-insured up to $2.5 million through partner banks.
• The IRA match is unmatched (pun intended). Getting 3% on contributions is a genuine edge for retirement savers.
• Cortex — their AI investment assistant — provides market digests and analysis. Still early, but it's a sign they're investing in tools, not just memes.
• Fractional shares starting at $1 make it accessible for small investors.
• SIPC protection up to $500,000 per account. SEC-registered. FINRA member. The regulatory boxes are all checked.

The not-so-good:

• Payment for order flow (PFOF). Robinhood makes money by routing your trades to market makers. This means you might get slightly worse execution prices than a broker like Fidelity or Interactive Brokers. For small trades, the difference is negligible. For large orders, it adds up.
• No mutual funds. You can't buy Vanguard index funds or any mutual fund on Robinhood. ETFs only. For most people this is fine — ETF equivalents exist — but it's a gap.
• Limited research tools without Gold. The free tier is bare-bones on analysis. You're essentially paying $5/month for what Fidelity and Schwab give away.
• Customer support has improved but still lags. They offer 24/7 support now, but the experience doesn't match Fidelity's or Schwab's dedicated phone support with knowledgeable reps.
• No 529 plans, SEP IRAs, or trust accounts. If your financial life is even slightly complex, you'll need a second broker.
• Index options and futures fees add up. The per-contract fees plus exchange fees can make active index options trading surprisingly expensive compared to the "free" stock trading headline.

Robinhood is great for:

• Beginners who want to start investing with $1 and zero friction. No other broker makes the first stock purchase feel this easy.
• Buy-and-hold investors who want $0 commissions on stocks and ETFs and don't need hand-holding from a financial advisor.
• IRA savers — the 3% Gold match is the best deal in retirement accounts right now. If you're maxing out your IRA, the $60/year Gold subscription pays for itself almost 4x over.
• Crypto-curious investors who want stocks and crypto in one place.
• Cash hoarders earning 3.35% APY with Gold while they decide what to buy.

Robinhood is NOT for:

• Serious options or futures traders who need the tightest execution and lowest all-in costs. Interactive Brokers Pro is cheaper and faster for high-volume trading.
• People who want mutual funds. Fidelity and Vanguard are obvious choices.
• Small business owners needing a SEP IRA or Solo 401(k). Schwab and Fidelity cover this.
• Investors who want comprehensive research for free. Fidelity's free research blows Robinhood's away.
• Anyone managing trusts or complex estate accounts. Robinhood simply doesn't offer them.

Against the Big Three — Fidelity, Schwab, and Vanguard — Robinhood trades blows:

• Commissions: Tied. Everyone's $0 on stocks and ETFs now. Robinhood's $0 on stock/ETF options matches Schwab and Fidelity (which charge $0.65/contract). Edge: Robinhood.
• Margin rates: Robinhood's 5% base rate undercuts Schwab (~12%+) and E*Trade (~11%+) significantly. Interactive Brokers Pro still wins for large balances. Edge: Robinhood.
• IRA match: Nobody else offers this. 3% with Gold is free money. Edge: Robinhood, decisively.
• Research and tools: Fidelity and Schwab offer vastly more — free Morningstar reports, screeners, analyst research, educational content. Robinhood charges $5/month for Morningstar access. Edge: Fidelity/Schwab.
• Account types: Fidelity and Schwab offer 529s, SEP IRAs, trusts, custodial accounts, HSAs. Robinhood offers individual, joint, Traditional IRA, and Roth IRA. Edge: Fidelity/Schwab.
• Crypto: Robinhood offers native crypto trading. Fidelity has limited crypto. Schwab has none (directly). Edge: Robinhood.
• Cash yield: 3.35% APY with Gold vs. Fidelity's money market funds (similar yields, no subscription). Close call, but Robinhood's requires a $5/month subscription.

The real competitor is Fidelity. They offer $0 commissions, zero-expense-ratio index funds, robust research, every account type imaginable, and excellent customer service — all free. Robinhood's edge is the IRA match, lower margin rates, crypto, and a prettier app. That's a real edge for the right person, but Fidelity is the better all-around broker for most Americans.